spiced tea loaf

traditional, tea loaf, recipe, tea bread, vegan, vegetarian, egg free, dairy free, recipes, baking, cakes, fat free cakes, dried fruit,
spiced tea loaf
I love a cup of tea and a nice slice of traditional tea loaf. A much healthier alternative to cake, this fat free and low sugar recipe is great as a snack for packed lunches and picnics too. It's dairy free, vegetarian, vegan and has a portion of your daily fruit too - and such a quick and easy recipe to put together. The addition of wholemeal flour adds a great depth and 'bite' to this tea loaf and the end result is still moist and light - unlike a lot of baking recipes I have tried in the past with wholemeal flour.  

I also have it on good authority that they are a good fuel for cyclists out on a long ride due to their combination of slow and fast release carbohydrates. Any excuse for a slice of cake!


I spiced my tea loaf with quatre epices - one of my favourite spice mixes. Quatre-Ă©pices is a blend of allspice, nutmeg, clove, ginger and pepper.  It's often used to flavour pain d'epices and in savoury dishes such as pates and rillettes here in France. I use it regularly as an alternative to mixed spice in cakes and bakes.


I hope you enjoy. Bon appetit!


adapted from this recipe from the lovely Bit of the Good Stuff


preparation time: 4 - 5 hours soaking + 10 minutes 

cooking time: 60 - 75 minutes 

ingredients:

1 cup dried fruit (whatever you like or have in the cupboards - e.g. sultanas, citrus peel, cherries, dates)
1 1/2 cup strong brewed tea
1 cup plain white flour
2/3 cup wholemeal flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbs honey
1 tsp quatre epices (or mixed spice)
pinch of salt

method:

  1. in a large bowl add the tea to the fruit and soak for 4-5 hours (or see my tip below to speed up the process)
  2. preheat the oven to gas 3/160C
  3. line/grease a 2lb loaf tin
  4. add the honey, sugar and spice mix to the soaked dried fruit and stir well
  5. sieve the flour, baking powder and salt into the mix and fold in 
  6. pour into your prepared baking tin and bake for 60-75 minutes - it's cooked when a skewer comes out clean
  7. leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes before turning out to cool completely. Serve in slices. 
hints & tips:
  • You can use whatever type of tea you like - they will each add their own subtle difference to the finished loaf. I used a traditional English tea blend, but you can use Earl Grey, Chai or Green like in the original recipe.
  • You can speed up the dried fruit soaking process by adding the fruit and tea to a saucepan and bringing to the boil for 5 minutes. Leave to cool for 30 minutes before using in the recipe. This will help plump up the fruit in a much shorter space of time. 
  • This tea loaf is delicious served as it is, but is great with a bit of butter and jam too. 
  • a great way of using up leftover cold tea and odds & ends of packets of dried fruit.

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Comments

  1. I love a tea loaf and your version with spices sounds great! Going to try this soon i think. :-)
    Thanks for entering #creditcrunchmunch

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much - let me know when you give it a go.

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  2. Yum, your spiced tea loaf is a perfect for a healthy teatime treat.
    Popping over from #recipeoftheweek

    ReplyDelete
  3. A fab recipe which has inspired me to make a tea loaf as I have so much dried fruit and tea for that matter that needs using up:-) Thank you for a great #CreditCrunchMunch entry:-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks - one of my favourites and a fab way to use everything :)

      Delete
  4. I'd love a piece of this with my afternoon cuppa. So easy and yet so delicious. A perfect entry for the latest #TheSpiceTrail challenge. Thanks for linking up :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it is surprisingly good for so little effort - so moist and delicious and full of spice too :)

      Delete
  5. Lovely spiced tea loaf and a great use of that forgotten and untouched pot of tea. Thanks for linking to #creditcrunchmunch

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